Mozambique: CISM makes the country a reference in biomedical research

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Mozambique: CISM makes the country a reference in biomedical research

3:28 CAT | 17 Jun 2022

Photo: Notícias

The establishment of the Manhiça Health Research Centre (CISM) has made Mozambique a reference in biomedical research and the development of critical thinking, Minister of Health Armindo Tiago has said.

Armindo Tiago made his pronouncement in Maputo yesterday at the end of the Manhiça Foundation’s second annual symposium on global health, an event that served to share the main results of the research carried out over the 25 years of CISM’s existence.

Tiago highlighted the fact that Mozambique, a developing country, was experiencing an overall reduction in poverty levels in recent years.

As an example, he mentioned that, between 2003 and 2015, poverty levels in the country dropped from 63 to 48 percent, the same happening in relation to the average life expectancy, currently at 57 years of age.

“In recent years, thanks to global efforts, we have also had positive results in reducing the infant mortality rate by almost half. Sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia continue to bear the lion’s share of deaths from potentially preventable causes. These are the cases of malaria, diarrhoea, HIV and AIDS and tuberculosis, among others,” he said.

In Mozambique, 320 children aged from zero to five years old die from preventable and curable diseases such as malaria, respiratory infections and diarrhoea every day.

Minister Tiago underlined that, despite the recognition of the role of research in the formulation of policies based on scientific evidence in developing countries, particularly in Africa, there are still several challenges for carrying out relevant health research.

Among the factors is a lack of qualified and competent human resources, financial resources and adequate infrastructure to carry out a research agenda that responds to local problems, and the transformation of these results into known practices.

He reiterated the government’s recognition of CISM’s enormous contribution to the fight against poverty and disease, and its generation of evidence to guide policies in the sector he directs.

“It is for these and other reasons that we invested in institutions such as the Manhiça Foundation when the centre was born26 years ago thanks to an agreement between Mozambique and Spain. The vision was to bet on strengthening science as an engine of economic development, a partnership recently renewed for the 2022-2024 period,” he stressed.

Source: Notícias